The Orchestra 
“ Rachel is a wonder ... she engages with this music as if she were Bach's playmate.”
After beginnings with The Palladian Ensemble and Florilegium, she was leader of The English Concert from 1997 to 2002. In 2004 Rachel began a guest directorship with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, touring Europe and the USA. A highlight of this collaboration was a televised concert at the BBC Proms in 2007. In 2009 she recorded Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with violist Pavlo Beznosiuk, together with 2 Haydn Violin concertos.
Over the years Rachel has enjoyed numerous collaborations as guest director and soloist with orchestras all over the world; projects special to her have been those with Arte dei Suonatori (Poland), Musica Angelica and Santa Fe Pro Musica (USA), The Academy of Ancient Music, The European Union Baroque Orchestra, Holland Baroque Society and the Handel and Haydn Society (USA). 2011 / 2012 sees Rachel performing as concerto soloist, director and recitalist in Norway, Holland, Poland, Italy, Germany, the UK, Japan and Canada.
Rachel records exclusively for Channel Classics; her highly acclaimed interpretations of J.S.Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin and his Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord (with Trevor Pinnock) were both awarded first place by the BBC's "Building a Library" programme. The Solo Sonatas and Partitas have received much attention over the 10 years since their release, including no 1 on Amazon, Critic’s Choice of the Year and 10/10 from Compact Disc. Rachel's recording of Telemann's Twelve Fantasies for Solo Violin won the prestigious Diapason d'Or and her 2003 recording of Vivaldi's 12 violin concertos "La Stravaganza" also received the Diapason d'Or as well as winning the 2003 Gramophone Award for Best Baroque Instrumental recording. Her Duo with harpsichordist and fortepianist Gary Cooper not only enjoyed success through their complete Mozart Sonatas recording project (2004-2009) but also through their diverse concert tours of the USA, Far East and Europe. The Mozart Sonatas series enjoyed worldwide critical acclaim and received numerous accolades, including Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice and the Diapason d‘Or awards.
After the Mozart series Rachel returned to Bach with her own, newly-founded, ensemble Brecon Baroque, recording Bach's Violin Concertos. Released in October 2010 to outstanding reviews and much attention in the press, this recording has been hailed as a bench-mark version of this repertoire. Future plans for Brecon Baroque include Bach's Double & Triple Concertos and the Art of Fugue, as well as Telemanns's Tafelmusik collection. In 2011 Rachel will record Vivaldi's La Cetra (opus 9) with the Holland Baroque Society as well as Mozart & Haydn duets with violist Jane Rogers.
In 2006 Rachel became artistic director of her own annual festival, the Brecon Baroque Festival, a five-day event which goes from strength to strength, featuring concerts by Brecon Baroque, the Festival Orchestra and visiting guest ensembles, as well as an annual Baroque Ball. For more information see breconbeaconsmusic.com
Teaching is a significant part of Rachel's musical life. She teaches at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where she holds the Jane Hodge Foundation International Chair in Baroque Violin, she is Visiting Professor of Baroque Violin and Fellow of The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and is Visiting Professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen. In September 2008 she took up the newly-founded Michaela Comberti Chair for Baroque Violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she is also an Honorary Member.
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